Tag Archives: ems

In this post we take a look at the important questions you should ask when looking for data loggers.

Since our founding over 50 years ago, data logging has always been a key requirement for our customers and as technology and regulations have evolved so have our products and solutions. We now offer a wide range of devices but it can get confusing knowing which approach to take.

When choosing a logging solution consider the following areas…

Parameters – What environmental conditions do you need to measure eg Humidity and Temperature

Accuracy/Calibration – How accurate do you need the results and do you require calibration.

Memory – How long can the device log and is data stable if power is lost

Cost – What it often boils down to, but always consider the cost of not changing what you are doing

Lets look in a bit more detail…

Parameters – Fairly self-explanatory but consider things like calculated parameters (dew point) , it might be better to use two separate devices rather than one. Rotronic offer Humidity, Temperature, CO2, Differential Pressure and Barometric pressure probes, but also many of our loggers accept analogue input signals so you can utilise existing or 3rd party instrumentation.

Accuracy & Calibration – Accuracy specifications can be mis-leading, if you care about your measurements we would always advice pre-delivery calibration. Also consider that often bulky loggers can be slower and more costly to calibrate vs devices with external probes. When considering humidity measurements drift is also a key factor.

Environmental Conditions – Consider both those you need to measure and where the logger will be placed. Many loggers have cable probes that can tolerate adverse conditions where the logger itself cannot. Also be wary of battery life, it is typically only stated for use at ambient conditions.

Access to Data / Reporting – Simple loggers typically require manual downloading of data. For large installations or where regular reporting is required this can quickly become a laborious task. Alternatively look for devices with a permanent connection to the monitoring software. Our latest RMS software provides live alarms, automated reports and users can access live data through a simple web browser, often saving time and money in the long run. Simple reporting is also key so that data can securely be shared. In compliant applications you may also require the ability for users to validate report authenticity.

Local Display – Useful for many applications but as data becomes always available can a mobile device act as the display for you data logger. For large spaces consider the ability to build dashboards in your software so that users can see data whilst operating.

Power Requirements – Devices with non user replaceable batteries lead to downtime and additional costs. Where possible mains or PoE connections ensure battery life is not an issue. Our latest wireless devices ensure >3 year battery life even when logging and transmitting data every minute.

Memory – Should be secure in the event of battery or power failure and sufficient to last either between download events or as a back up in case monitoring software / network connections fail.

Cost – Best to be realistic with your budgets, consider the time costs for not acting and down forget on going service costs such as validation and calibration.

As you can see from the simple overview above it is virtually impossible to have one logger for every application. At Rotronic we have a diverse range of solutions and even these do not cover all eventualities.

If you have monitoring requirements please do contact us to discuss further.

Rotronic has released launched our next generation server based Environmental Monitoring System (RMS), but here we take a look at our traditional system that is still fully supported and widely used in the pharmaceutical industry and beyond.

The German pharmaceutical manufacturer Dr. R. Pfleger GmbH requires specialist cleanroom environments for many areas of production and development. It is vital for the company to monitor and verify pressure conditions as well as humidity and temperature data in its cleanrooms. To meet this need,the company uses validated Rotronic data loggers from the Hygrolog HL-NT series.

Together with theRotronicvalidated HW4 monitoring software, these data loggers deliver important information on the environments that have an influence on the production of pharmaceutical products.

The Rotronic monitoring system has stood the test of time in the market over many years and undergone continuous development. The HW4 software forms the heart of the system. It visualises and saves all data, configurations and user events and also triggers alarms. Its audit trail logs all data and activities in compliance with FDA21 CFR Part 11 and GAMP5. Rotronic calibrated, qualified and validated Dr. R. Pfleger GmbH’s monitoring system according to GMP requirements.

Overall control and regulation
The management system forms the basis for operation, monitoring and control of the technical facilities as well as for data and message management. Apart from the technical installations, the validated clean room monitoring system is implemented
directly in FIS (OPC interface).

HygroLog HL-NT data logger – The central acquisition unit is a HygroLog-HL-NT data logger. It provides digital inputs for HygroClip humidity and temperature probes as well as Pt100 and 4…20 mA devices.

The data logger is also equipped with a memory card which not only stores the measurement of data but also all the events in the instrument itself.

HC2-S sensors
The digital HygroClip2 climate probes provide class leading precision and long-term stability. All calibration and adjustment data is stored internally. Their standard accuracy ex works is ±0.8 %rh and ±0.1 K, for more demanding tasks, sensors with an accuracy of ±0.5 %rh can be supplied.

Sophisticated Software – The HW4 software saves the measurement data, alarms and events in a protected binary format. Any manipulations are detected and the data record is then marked as corrupt. Instruments are organised in groups and shown in the room layout. Colour changes make alarms and disturbances easy to recognise.

Evaluation and archiving
A data file is created for every measuring point. Mean Kinetic Temperature values are calculated from this raw data. The evaluation also contains alarm times and deviations and is presented in the form of a table with statistical values. Thanks to the high level of integration of the hardware in HW4, virtually all Rotronic instruments can be implemented in the existing monitoring system.

Customer benefits
The monitoring system implemented by Rotronic offers a consistent solution, since all main and secondary installations and the monitoring system itself are integrated in the FIS management system, they can be monitored and controlled via a central software platform.